Want to Expand Your Vocabulary? Share a Word and See If We Can Figure it Out!

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Discussion Overview

The thread explores various words, their meanings, and playful interactions around vocabulary expansion. Participants share unique words, challenge each other to guess meanings, and engage in humorous exchanges about language without using external resources like dictionaries or search engines.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants define "defenestrate" as to throw oneself or an object out of a window, with one adding a humorous context.
  • Another participant introduces "eschew," meaning to purposely avoid, illustrated with a playful example.
  • A participant asks about the meaning of "kirstse," suggesting it may not be found in dictionaries, leading to speculation about its origin.
  • Discussion includes the word "osculate," defined as to pucker up, with a reference to a quote from a film.
  • One participant mentions that in Arabic, "kill" means good friend, indicating a different cultural context for the word.
  • Various unique words are shared, such as "præternatural," "flyting," and "bladderate," each with their own definitions and contexts.
  • Participants engage in playful banter about spelling, particularly with the word "floccinaucinihilipilification," correcting each other and discussing its meaning.
  • Humor is present in discussions about using common words like "smurf" and "face" in unconventional ways.
  • Some participants express interest in including pronunciations for the words discussed.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants share a variety of words and meanings, but there is no consensus on definitions or the significance of certain words, leading to a mix of agreement and playful contention.

Contextual Notes

Some words discussed may have multiple meanings or cultural interpretations, and participants express uncertainty about definitions, particularly with less common terms.

Who May Find This Useful

Readers interested in expanding their vocabulary, exploring linguistic creativity, or engaging in playful language discussions may find this thread appealing.

Mk
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Post a word and tell us what it means, or post a word and we'll guess! No googling or dictionary-ing though.

Defenestrate: to throw oneself or an object out of a window. :-p
 
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Mk said:
Post a word and tell us what it means, or post a word and we'll guess! No googling or dictionary-ing though.

Defenestrate: to throw oneself or an object out of a window. :-p
Also "to be thrown out of a window" as in "Darn it, I got defenestrated again!"

One of my favorite words: eschew--to purposely avoid

As in "Brussel sprouts are not chewed, but eschewed."
(paraphrased from Dave Eggers)
 
What does kirstse mean? Google won't even help you with this one.

Oh, I have another. This is my mother telling me about a movie she saw. Can anyone tell me the other meaning of kill?

Mom: [blah, blah...] but they kill him anyway.
Me: They kill him?
Mom: Yeah.
Me (half-jokingly): Well, great, you just ruined it for me!
Mom: Well, no, they don't kill him.
Me: :smile:
 
Last edited:
honestrosewater said:
What does kirstse mean? Google won't even help you with this one.
Heh. Neither does the OED. Did you make it up?:devil:
 
osculate - to pucker up (from My Little Chickadee) Fields to Mae West "Just one little osculation?"
 
Chi Meson said:
Heh. Neither does the OED. Did you make it up?:devil:
Not exactly. Oh, wait, um, yes, I guess that is pretty much what happened. It refers to the group of people who are cursed. I'm trying to get it some action.

https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=105113
 
In arabic, kill means good friend. I'm guessing that's not the answer you're after though.
 
matthyaouw said:
In arabic, kill means good friend. I'm guessing that's not the answer you're after though.
:smile:
Bye.
 
I used these in the "what's that word" thread...

Præternatural: a synonym of supernatural.

Flyting: Started by poets in Scotland in the 1500s it is a lyrical battle of wit and insult.
 
  • #10
Am I the only one who finds the idea of a rennisance equivalent of a rap battle quite funny?
 
  • #11
Here's a good Peterism I remember from a management book...

Bladderate: v. To extend a meeting by continuous irrelevant debate until it must be adjourned without reaching a decision due to all participants' need to visit the washroom.
 
  • #12
flaccinaucinihilipilification, the act of declaring something as worthless.
 
  • #14
sorry! I normally spell it right.
 
  • #15
It took me about a million tries to find the right spelling, for the starting post in the thread. I couldn't figure it out though, and yommama helped me find the right one.
 
  • #16
the - Used before singular or plural nouns and noun phrases that denote particular, specified persons or things
 
  • #17
smurf - Can be any noun or verb. e.g.

"Man that guy's an idiot, I'd like to smurf the smurf outta him"
 
  • #18
We used to use "face" as any noun or verb. It was great.

Also, the action of wrapping, or trying to wrap one's hand around another one's head was called "facing."

Man that guy's an idiot, I'd like to face the facing face out that dumbface.
 
  • #19
Zorilla: A small african mammal related to weasles and skunks.

Quetzal: A type of central american bird.


---edit---
Good scrabble words by the way.:wink:
 
  • #20
Like pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis it's a science site so fantastical it further defies antidisestablishmentarianism.
 
  • #21
Ahh, like Quetzalcoatl!
 
  • #22
Addercup-spider. (adder means poison)
 
  • #23
wow, it took me like 15 min to be able to say this word fluently :-p floccinaucinihilipilification... it just rolls off the tounge :biggrin:
 
  • #24
sesquipidalian--a user of long words. Otherwise defined as someone who knows what it means. You are a sesquipidalian if you know what a sesquipidalian is.
 
  • #25
we should have pronunciations in here too. can't use the word if you can't say it!
 
  • #26
Dawguard said:
sesquipidalian--a user of long words. Otherwise defined as someone who knows what it means. You are a sesquipidalian if you know what a sesquipidalian is.
This is a great word, and means, literally, "a foot and a half long." It has come to be applied to people who use long words: words that are a foot and a half long.

(By the way, it's sesquipe[/color]dalian)[/size]
 

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